Laundry press



p 1954 E. E. FOSTER 2,690,020

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EDWIN E. FOSTER A TTORNEVS Sept. 28, 1954 Filed June 8, 1949 E. E.FOSTER 2,690,020

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EDWIN E FOSTER A TTORNEVS P 1954 E. E. FOSTER 2,690,020

LAUNDRY PRESS Filed June 8, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 ll. 1 I a 56 36 89 35r89 J5 5/ o 4 6 2 M13 2 II I 0 I 4 k 0 I" A3 43 a la g f- O as an 6 l5 9W INVENTOR. 5 3 EDWIN E FOSTER BY 67 62 I '1] y 4 5 2M il llll 6 4 I II.I I

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LAUNDRY PRESS Filed June 8, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 lhhh l8 WWW MM. Hm.

' INVENTOR.

EDWIN E. FOSTER A TTnRA/EVS Patented Sept. 28, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE LAUNDRY PRESS Edwin E. Foster, Austin, Tex. Application June 8,1949, Serial No. 97,783

(01. esp-25) 18 Claims. 1 This invention relates to a manually operatedpress to be more particularly used in laundries and the like forpressing all types of textiles.

It is an object of this invention to provide a manually operated presswhich will require a minimum of effort by the operator and will be quickin its operation. A further object of the invention resides in astructure for applying the force necessary to effect the ironing orpressing pressure and torelease this pressure without dissipating theeffective force. A still further object resides in a press in which thebed member is adjustable automatically to accommodate varyingthicknesses of materials to be pressed.

Another object of the invention resides in a press in which a lever isprovided with a weight on a long arm with a short arm connected to thebed member of the press to thus apply the pressing force between thehead and bed members. The mechanism includes means to hold the weight atthe two positions of movement of the weighted lever together with meansto latch the various parts in the positions of pressing andnon-pressing.

Further objects will be apparent from the following description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the press in the openposition,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section of the press in theposition preparatory to a pressing operation with the head memberlatched down before pressure is applied,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation partly in section of the press in thepressure applied position,

Fig. 4 is a side elevation partly in section of the press just afterpressure has been released, but before the head is re-opened,

Fig. 5' is a top plan view of the base partly in section,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the lower rear portion of the pressshowing one of the brake devices, v

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the press in the open position,

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a portion of the back of the press,

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the machine, and

Fig. 10 is a side view partly in section showing the toggle member inbroken position. The press comprises a head member 9 and a bed member 24with the head member mounted and secured on a pivoted yoke I. A frameindicated generally by the reference character 2 is comprised of angleirons with front foot member 83 and rear foot member 84, bothinterconnected by side members 85. Two front upright members 86 and tworear upright members 81 are connected to side brace members 88 and crossbrace members 89 complete the framework which supports the various partsof the press.

The yoke l is pivoted to the frame 2 at the point or rod 3 and isprovided with a toggle member 4 which latches the yoke in the. openposition, as shown in Fig. 1 and also in the closed position as shown inFig. 2. The toggle 4 is hinged to a link 5, which in turn is pivoted tothe frame 2 at the point 6. The link 5 is held forward or in theposition to the extreme right, by means of a tension spring 1 against aheavy cross member 8 of the frame 2. The object of this link 5 is toallow the toggle member 4 to latch into the straightened position andthen lift away from the cross member acting as a limit stop 8 enough toallow the head member 9 on the yoke I to travel to its extreme openposition without the use of an oil check or other form of energydissipater. Multiple latch fingers ID are pivoted to the cross member 8at the point ii and cooperate with a roller I2 on the toggle 4 to holdthe head in its extreme open position. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 1,the head is wide open and the toggle 4 is held in its straightenedposition by means of a latch l3 and a roller I4 and the toggle 4 is heldaway from the cross member 8 by one of the prop latches ill. The rollerI4 is mounted on a link 45.

As shown in Fig. 1, heavy tension springs 15 are provided which pull ina direct line between the point [6 on the base of the frame and thepoint 3, where the yoke is pivoted to the frame. When handle I! of theyoke is pulled downward, the latch roller 14 is moved to the left andthe toggle 4 is broken and at the same time the roller I2 is pulled offof the latch finger I0. This allows the head to fall toward its closedposition. With a few pounds additional pull during the entire stroke ofthe head closing operation, the springs [5 will be stretchedsufiiciently by the time the toggle 4 is latched in the closed position,

'as shown in Fig. 2, so that after the pressure is applied and the headreopened, the tension springs [5 will again throw the head to itsextreme open position. In other words, the yoke System of opening andclosing the heavy head on a laundry press does two things which arebetter than the system heretofore in use. That is, the head opens andcloses much more quickly and second, it requires considerably lesseifort. In order to apply 6,000 pounds pressure between the head andbuck, after the head is latched down, this structure uses a combinationof leverage, weight and compression spring.

The weight I8 is rigidly mounted to the arm I9 which is pivoted to theframe on the rod 20 as a fulcrum. A push link 2| carries the pressurefrom a pin 22 into a compression spring 23 and against the buck or bedmember 24. In Fig. l, the weight i8 is being held by means of a frictionshoe 25. As the handle I1 is pulled downward to its closed position, asshown in Fig. 2, the weight I8 is lifted to the position shown in Fig. 2by means of a latch member 26 pivoted on the yoke and the shoe 25 isdisengaged from the weight i8 due to the fact that a pin 21 on theweight hits a leaf spring 28 and lifts it out of contact where it isheld by means of a latch member 29. In order to apply the pressurebetween the head and buck after latching the head down, it is necessaryto lift up on the handle IT to release the weight W, as will beexplained. As shown in Fig. 3, the weight l8 falls downward due to theforce of gravity and the push link 2| is forced upward against thecompression spring 23, which in turn transmits this pressure agamst thepadded buck. The lower end of the compression spring 23 lifts away fromthe bottom of housing 30. The falling weight l8 has now transferred itsenergy into the spring 23 and the friction shoe 3| allows the weight togo downward as far as it can, but will not let it back track or rebound.Therefore, the 6,000 pounds pressure is held between the head and buckto provide the ironing pressure.

Fig. 6 shows a rear bottom portion of the machine. Referring to Fig. 2,when the head is brought downward,the latch 26 lifts the weight l8 toits highest position. During this operation the pin 21 on the weight [8hits the leaf spring 28 and lifts the friction shoe 25 out of contactwith the curved surface and the latch 29 holds it out of contact. Inorder to apply pressure, the handle I! is moved upward, which releasesthe latch 26 and allows the weight i8 to fall and apply pressure. Duringthis falling stroke of the weight IS, the roller bumps the projection onthe latch 29 and lets the shoe 25 move downward again into operatingposition.

At the same time the head was being brought downward, a tension spring32 was also stretched,

as shown in Fig. 2. This spring 32 is made to hold its energy during theinterval of time while the press is applying ironing pressure, then, inorder to release the pressure and allow the head to open, a slightpressure on a trigger 33 on the handle transmits a pull through a cable34 over the two rollers 35 and 3B and lifts latch 31 upward off of theroller 38. This allows the energy in the tension spring 32 to jerkthe'friction shoe 3| downward in order to release the weight l8, whichimmediately rebounds upward to the position shown in Fig. l. Afterreaching the position shown in Fig. 4, a cable 39 moves a lever 40 aboutfulcrum 4| and actuates a forked member 42, which breaks the toggle 4and allows the head to snap open. When the head is opened it is backagain in the position shown in Fig. 1 and ready to begin a new cycle.Fig. 9 shows the tension spring 32, which is tensioned' at thetime thehead is lowered so that at the end of the ironing operation a lightpressure on the trigger at the handle will pull the cable 34 releasingthe latch 31 and permitting the arm 39 to rotate about the rod 96. Thiswill cause the pull link 62 to move the friction shoe 3| downward,thereby releasing the weight It. The last part of this downward movementof the shoe 3| causes the pull cable 39 to move thelever 40,, whichreleases the toggle 4 and lets the head open.

The principle of counterweighting the head and also the principle ofapplying the pressure can be compared to the action of a bouncing balloraspring board. The pressure is applied at the bottomv of the bounceand the weight is held there as long as necessary. When the weight isreleased, the weightbounces back up as if it had never been stopped.This allows the machine to recover three-fourths or more of the energyeach time so that the total effort required is little enough that it canbe supplied by the average operator without being tiresome. The actualmachine can develop 6,000 pounds ormore pressure with a 300 pound headwith the following forces required by the operator: An average of 20pounds on the handle through 24 inches is sufficient to close the headquickly and raise the bell enough to replenish the spent energy. About10 pounds lift on the handle through an inch and a quarter stroke causedthe 6,000 pounds to be applied. About 5 pounds pressure through 1 /2inches caused the pressure to be released and the head opened. Acomplete cycle can be completed in 2 seconds-that is, when the pressureis applied and released immediately.

The toggle 4' is comprised of two members or links 4| and 49 pivoted at43, and 44 is a rigid extension of the link 4|. The link 45 is pivotedwith limited movement to the right but free to move to the left urged bya' spring l3 to the right, Figs. 1-4.

There are three fingers H) but they are of unequal length with agradually increasing length from the front to the back and each isvurged downwardly by tension springs 4'1. The fingers l9 are pivoted at48 in a bracket 49; Fig. 1, and are limted as to movement counterclockwise.

From Fig. 2 to Fig. 3, latch 26 is released by the handle I! and islifted up about the fulcrum 50, latch 26 being pivoted at 5| on the yokeI. Latch 26 releases the. pin 52.0n the weight H3 which latter also hasa roller 53 on its upper end. This roller 53 contacts the latch 29 as acam to release the latch 29 from shoe 25.

A spring 54 constantly urges latch 26 counterclockwise around the pivot5|.

The forked member 42 is by means of a link 55 pivoted at its upper endat 53' on the angle member 57 of the frame and the left end 58 ispivoted to a bell crank lever 49 pivoted at 59. to the frame.

The shoe 3| is mounted on a double link 60 which is pivotally mounted at6|. to the frame. Another link 62 is pivoted at 63' to the shoe at itsupper end and the lower end is secured at E4 to a cross piece 69rotatable on a rod 66. A bell crank B! is secured to the cross piece 65and to which the spring 32 is connectedby a link 38. Arm 69 is alsosecured to the cross" piece 65 and a spring 'Hlurges the arm 69 to theleft. A limit strip 1| contacts the frame.

I claim as my invention:

1. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted on theframe and carrying the head member, a lever arm pivotally mounted in theframe at one end thereof and having a weight at the other end thereof,means connecting the bed member with the lever arm adjacent the pivot ofthe arm and on the side opposite to that which carries the weight, andmeans to hold the lever arm in the press open position and the closedposition of the head and bed members, and including a resilient memberinterposed between the bed member and the means operable by the weightto release the latter to impart an ironing force on the head and bedmembers.

2. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted on theframe and carrying the head member, a lever arm pivotally mounted in theframe at one end thereof and having a weight at the other end thereof,means connecting the bed member with the lever arm adjacent the pivot ofthe arm and on the side opposite to that which carries the weight, meansto hold the lever arm in the press open position and the closed positionof the head and bed members, means between the bed member and theconnecting means to compensate for the thickness of the material to bepressed, and including a resilient member interposed between the bedmember and the means operable by the weight to release the latter toimpart an ironing force on the head and bed members.

3. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted on theframe and carrying the head member, a lever arm pivotally mounted in theframe at one end thereof and having a weight at the other end thereof,means connecting the bed member with the lever arm adjacent the pivot ofthe arm and on the side opposite to that which carries the weight, meansto hold the lever arm in the press open position and the closed positionof the head and bed members, means connected on the yoke to release thelever arm after the head member is brought down near the bed member, andincluding a resilient member interposed between the bed member and themeans operable by the weight to release the latter to impart an ironingforce on the head and bed members.

4. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted in theframe and to which the head member is secured, a lever arm having aweight at one end and pivotally mounted at the other end in the framewith a long lever arm for the weight and a short lever arm, and meansfor connecting the short lever arm to the bed member.

5. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted in theframe and to which the head member is secured, a lever arm having aweight at one end and pivotally mounted at the other end in the framewith a long lever arm for the weight and a short lever arm means forconnecting the short lever arm to the bed member, and means for latchingthe lever arm in the open and closed positions of the head and bedmembers.

6. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted in theframe and on which one of the members is mounted, a lever arm pivotallymounted in the frame at one end thereof and having a weight 6. at theother end thereof, meansconnecting the lever arm with the other memberon the side opposite to that which carries the weight, means to latchand hold the weighted lever in the open and closed positions of thepress, and a resilient member interposed between the bed member and themeans operable by the weight to release the latter to impart an ironingforce on the head and bed members.

7. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted in theframe and having the head member secured thereon, a lever arm pivotallymounted in the frame at one end thereof and having a weight secured onthe other end thereof, a push link secured at one end adjacent the pivotpoint of the lever arm on the side opposite to that which carries theweight, a spring connected to the other end of the push link and the bedmember, means to hold the weighted lever arm in the raised and loweredpositions for the press open and closed positions, and a resilientmember interposed between the bed member and the means operable by theweight to release the latter to impart an ironing force on the head andbed members.

8. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, the bed member being providedwith a compression spring, a yoke pivotally mounted in the frame andhaving the head mem'- ber secured thereon, a lever arm pivotally mountedin the frame and having a weight secured on one end, a push link securedat one end adjacent the pivot point of the lever arm and connected atthe other end to the spring, and meansto hold the weighted lever arm inthe raised and lowered positions for the press open and closedpositions, said lever arm on the downward or falling movement of theweight, forces the push link upwardly against the action of the springto transfer the energy of the falling weight in the spring which latterproduces the pressing force between the head and bed members.

9. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, the bed member being providedwith a compression spring, a yoke pivotally mounted in the frame andhaving the head member secured thereon, a lever arm pivotally mounted inthe frame and having a weight secured on one end, a push link secured atone end adjacent the pivot point of the lever arm and connected at theother end to the spring, means to hold the weighted lever arm in theraised and lowered positions for the press open and closed positions,said lever arm on the downward or falling movement of the weight, forcesthe push link upwardly against the action of the spring to transfer theenergy of the falling weight in the spring which latter produces thepressing force between the head and bed members, a latch mountedadjacent the weighted end of the lever arm, and handle means on the yokeand connected to the latch to hold the weighted lever arm in the raisedposition.

10. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted in theframe and having the head member secured thereon, a lever arm pivotallymounted in the frame and having a weight secured on one end, a push linksecured at one end adjacent the pivot point of the lever arm, acompression spring in contact with the other end of the push linkaeeopzo at; one endandwith the bed member atthe. other end, means. tohold the weighted lever arm. inthe raised and lowered positions for thepress open and closed. positions, said leverarm on the downward orfalling movement of the weight, forces the push linkupwardly againstthe. action of the spring to transfer'the energy of the falling weightin the spring; which latter. produces the pressing force between thehead and bedmembers, and means; connected to the yoke operable to.releasethe weighted lever arm. in the raised position.

11. A textile. press particularly for laundries comprising. a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted. in.the frame and carrying the head member, av lever arm having a weight atone end and the other end. pivotally secured in the frame, meansconnected. to the. said other end of the. lever arm and the. bedmemberto provide a. resilient. con.- nection between the arm and. the bed.member, and means mounted on. the frame to. arrest and hold the weightedlever ,armin. a. raisedposition and. in a lowered position in which. theraised position is the non-pressing position for the head and bedmembers. and the lowered. position reacts to provide the force of themovement of the lever and weight in the lowered position into theresilient connection to provide the pressing force. between the headand. bed members.

12. A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members, a yoke pivotally mounted in theframe and, carrying the head member, a lever arm having a. weight at oneend and the other end pivotally secured in. the frame, means con,-nected to the said other end of the. lever arm and the bed member toprovide a resilient connection between the arm and the bed member, meansmounted. on the frame to arrest and hold the weighted lever arm in araised position and ina lowered position in which the raised position isthe non-pressing position. for the head and bed members and the loweredposition reacts to provide the force of, the movement of the. weightdescending by force of gravity into the resilient connection to providethe pressing force between the head and bed" members, and means,operable from the yoke to release the weighted lever arm in itspositions of non-pressing and pressure application' relative to the headand bed members.

13. A textile. press particularly for l'aundries comprising a frame,relatively movable headv and bed members, a yoke pivotally' mounted inthe frame and carrying the head member, a lever arm having a weight atone end and the. other end pivotally secured. in the frame,..means,connected' to the said other end of the lever arm and the bed member to.provide a resilient connection between the arm and the bed member, meansmounted on the frame to; arrest and hold the weighted lever arm in araised position and in a lowered position in which the raised positionis the non-pressing: position for the head and bed members and thelowered position reacts to provide the force. of the movement. of theweight descending by force of gravity into the resilient. connectiontoprovide the pressing. force between the headand bed members, and means8:. including an operating handle on the. yoke to release the weightedlever arm in its positions of. non-pressing and pressure applicationrelative to the. head. andbed members.

14. A. textile. press particularly for laundries comprising afra-me,relatively movable head and bed members with the bed member movablerelative to the frame, a yoke pivotally mounted in.the frame andcarrying, the head. member, a lever arm pivotally mounted in the frameand having a long portion and a short portion relative to. the pivot, aweight. mounted on the free end of the long arm, a rod connected. at oneend to the short portion of the lever arm, resilient means connectingthe other end of the rod to the bed member, andv means to hold theweight in two vertical positionsv of non-pressing and pressure. applied.relative to the head. and bed member whereby in the pressure appliedposition the force of theweight in the. non-pressing position will. betransferred into the resilient means for the pressing force of the headand bed members in. the. press closed position so that when released.the force in. the resilient means will be transferred back into thelever arm. to thereby conserve. the energy of. the pressing force.

15. A textile press according to claim 14, in which. the. resilientmeans is in the form of a compression spring bearing at one end on therod and. they other end on the bed member.

16. A textile press according to claim 14, in which means are providedoperable from the .yoke to. release the holding means for the weight.

17... A textile press particularly for laundries comprising a frame,relatively movable head and bed members mounted on the frame, a yokepivotally mounted in the frame and on which the head member is secured,an energy storing unit secured to the bed member so that the latter maybe slightly movable relative to the frame, and means connected to theenergy storing unit and. movable to various positions to transfer theenergy for the. pressing force between the head and bed. members intoand out of the unit to thereby prevent release ofthe pressing forceafter each pressing operation of the press, said means including. alever arm having a weight at one end and pivotally mounted in the frameat the other end to move in a vertical direction relative to the weight.

' 18'. A textile press comprising a frame, relatively movable head" andbed members mounted on the frame, an energy storing unit. connected toone of the members, and means mounted. in the frame and movable tovarious positions to transfer the energy for the pressing force betweenthe head and bed members into and out of the unit during each pressingoperation to thereby prevent release of the pressing force after eachpressing operation of the press, said means including-a weight mountedon the frame for vertical movement for storing the energy of thepressing force when the unit and members have completed a pressingcycle.

References Cited in the. file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date 2,041,923 H'onney- May 26, 1936 2,239,991. Bush Apr.29, 1941

